In The Courts of Everdawn
by thalgrond
Summary: In the final days of the clone war, a Jedi and her Padawan are dispatched to a neutral world in the outer rim to prevent the Separatists from gaining a new foothold on the Republic's flank. They soon find themselves embroiled in a web of political intrigue, and find something that causes them to doubt the Jedi code itself... (WIP, just two pilot chapters for now to gauge interest.)
1. Chapter 1

**STAR WARS**

 _THE COURTS OF EVERDAWN_

* * *

 _In the wake of the battle over Coruscant, the **Galactic Republic** is locked in a state of total war against the **Confederacy of Independent Systems.** Battles rage in dozens of systems across the Galaxy and the **Jedi order** is stretched to the breaking point._

 _Meanwhile, Separatist agents have been waging a war on a second front. By turning the neutral worlds of the Rim against the **Senate,** they have been arranging for new enemies to emerge on the Republic's vulnerable flank, hoping to wear it down by attrition and spread the resources of the ailing Jedi order even thinner._

 _In response to new reports of Separatist operatives on the planet of **Ranos,** a Jedi Knight and her padawan are sent to investigate and ensure that the planet does not fall under Separatist control. If they succeed, they could stop a threat to the Republic before it ever emerges..._

* * *

Kayil sat silently in her room, head bowed, eyes closed, feeling the ebb and flow of the force around her. Far away, like distant echoes of screams in a deep cave, she could sense the clone wars raging on. Thousands of lives lost with every passing minute; millions of voices crying out in fear. It all seemed far away now, but she could remember all too easily when she had been up there on the front lines with the troops, how deafening that roar of pain and death had been then. Even when she wasn't actively listening as she was now, it had always been there, pressing at the edges of her consciousness. She could see how so many Jedi had lost their way in that maelstrom of destruction. Day after day, it had clawed at her, dragging her inexorably toward the dark side. She had felt the anger and fear of the clones around her every night as she lay down to sleep, and it had been only her training that held her back from becoming lost in that haze of negative emotions.

She turned her attention away from those distant screams and searched instead for a spot of calm. Hyperspace quietly slipped past outside the ship, a corridor of ice-cold silk, and behind her loomed the constant presence of Coruscant, hundreds of billions of beings, all dreaming, struggling, vying for attention, wanting to make themselves heard. Again, she turned away, and her mind swept the stars around the tunnel of warped space. Worlds whipped by, orbiting many a strange star, but out here on the Rim, most of them were uninhabited. A few specks of consciousness stood out here or there but compared to the core worlds it seemed nearly empty. The ship that carried her was a single speck of life against a vast sea of nothingness.

Finally, her mind's eye turned forward, down the hyperspace tunnel toward their destination. There was the feeling of a planet there. Not a vision, not really, but the Force gave her enough to get a feel for the place. It felt... dry. Empty, like so many of the other worlds that surrounded it. Almost like something dead. But one spot on the world's surface stood out to her, a bright, shining beacon, magnified thousands of times by the hyperspace corridor. For just an instant, it seemed to Kayil that she was only just above the surface, and she looked down to see the glint of mirrors and chrome towers, heard the talk of the inhabitants muffled by the distance, all blending together into a single noise, the sound of a tiny city enveloped and surrounded by a vast wasteland...

And, in amongst all that life, there were a few grains of darkness. Her mind wandered for a moment, brushed up against one of those darker minds, and she recoiled at the hot sensation, the unbridled emotion that coursed through her mind with the contact.

At that moment, the door of her chamber slid open, and she opened her eyes. The chamber she sat in was barely larger than a walk-in closet. It had just enough space for a bed, a cabinet, and the small patch of floor that she sat on. It had been dim for the sake of her meditation, lit only by a single glow panel turned down to minimum brightness, but now light streamed in from outside, framing the silhouette of the stocky younger woman in the doorway.

"Yes, Nakiri? What is it?" Kayil asked her padawan, rising gracefully from her cross-legged position and smoothing down her brown robes.

"Master," Nakiri said, bowing, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but the captain said she would like to have you on the command deck when we drop out of hyperspace. As the head representative of the Republic, the natives of Everdawn will be expecting you to be one of the first faces they see, and she expects the Ranos Defence Force to contact us the moment we exit hyperspace."

"Very well. How long until we arrive?"

"At this point... five minutes or so."

Kayil nodded and stepped to the door, gesturing for Nakiri to go ahead. "Very well. I will be right behind you."

It was a short walk to the command deck: they went down the red-carpeted hallway, walked up a short flight of stairs, through a set of sliding doors, and out onto the control deck of the Consular cruiser _Invulnerable._

When those doors slid open, the mottled blue tunnel of hyperspace was still slipping past outside the large forward viewport. The command deck was cramped, with only three control stations clustered together at the center of the room, belonging to the captain, the pilot, and the communications officer. The space around these stations bustled with quiet activity.

A Consular-class cruiser had a remarkably small crew for its size class, but it seemed that most of that crew was currently on the bridge. The astrogator and astrogator's mate stood by the door, looking over a set of documents detailing the locations of known Separatist fleets so they could be easily avoided. Three armored clone troopers stood in corners like armorplast mannequins, blasters holstered by their sides, striking a difficult balance between unobtrusive and intimidating. The lead gunner and one of the ship's technicians were both engaged in some debate with the captain, speaking in hushed voices but gesturing emphatically.

The captain looked displeased with something, but upon seeing Kayil and her padawan enter the bridge, she raised a hand for silence, and both of the men talking to her immediately stopped, then took a respectful step backward. The captain swiveled to fully face the two Jedi, rose from her seat, and strode towards them.

"Master Kayil. We will be exiting hyperspace in only a few minutes." Her rough accent reflected her border world upbringing, in sharp contrast with the polished Upper Coruscant accent of Kayil, and the carefully refined tones that Nakiri used to conceal the telltale traces of her childhood on the notorious level 1313, kilometers below Coruscant's surface. "I guessed you would wish to be on the bridge when we begin our final approach to Ranos?" the captain continued, raising an eyebrow at Kayil.

"Quite correct, captain Geralda." The Jedi inclined her head ever so slightly, and the gesture was returned by the captain, albeit quickly and with an air of impatience.

"Well then. I suggest the two of you stand behind my chair until they contact us. I'll introduce you, then let you take over communications. Shall we?" She stepped aside, letting the Jedi and apprentice step past her, then followed behind them and settled back into her seat. She offered her two passengers a small, very brief smile, then swiveled again to face the main viewport and resumed her conversation with the technician and the gunner without another glance at the Jedi.

Kayil and Nakiri exchanged a glance, and Kayil subtly tapped the hem of her robe with a slender-fingered hand. Her padawan glanced down and straightened her own robe, cleared her throat, and stood up straighter. For a moment, the two of them stood side by side, watching the mottled blue tunnel of hyperspace rocket past, letting the chatter of the bridge crew fade into the background.

The navigator pulled a lever, and the light show vanished. Smaller streaks of light appeared like rain running across the windshield of a speeder, and then coalesced into stars. At the same time, a tiny dot of brown and red appeared ahead of them, raced up to meet them, and became a huge orb, filling most of the forward viewport, the planet coming to rest seemingly moments away from colliding with the ship. It was all in shades of brown and umber, and what Kayil could see of the night side was similarly barren in appearance: no city lights gleamed down there. From orbit, the world of Ranos looked totally uninhabited.

The whole crew let out a breath in unison. Then the captain was back into the swing of things. "Sensors, report."

"We have entered Ranos' orbit, captain. Multiple ships and stations detected at extreme ranges. Several fightercraft are on station nearby and have altered course to intercept us. We should have escorts within a minute or two." _Provided that the Separatists haven't already gotten here, and these fighters aren't on their way to attack us._ Nobody said it, but it was on everyone's minds.

"Comms? Hail the lead fighter. If they respond, give me audio. I doubt that a craft that small has visual comms."

"Aye, sir."

A moment's pause, then "They've returned our hail, sir. Audio link in three... two... one..."

A slightly staticky voice sounded over the bridge speakers. "Attention, Republic cruiser. This is Lieutenant Aksur Irwin, callsign Lancer, Ranos Defense Force. We're expecting a diplomatic mission from Coruscant. Do you have the ambassadors we're expecting onboard your vessel?"

The captain thumbed a button on the arm of her chair. "Copy, Lancer. This is captain Geralda of the Republic ship _Invulnerable._ And yes, we do. We have two Jedi knights aboard. You can speak with them directly if you like."

There was an uncomfortably long pause. Then Irwin's voice crackled over the comms again. "Copy, _Invulnerable._ Taking up escort positions around your vessel. We'll guide you to the rendezvous point, where you can offload the... Jedi... onto a Ranos Defence Force shuttle, which will then transport them down to Suryasta city in the kingdom of Everdawn."

The word 'Jedi' was spoken with a biting amount of distaste, and Kayil nearly winced. Nowadays Jedi weren't seen as much more than Republic thugs by much of the galaxy. Still, there was usually a bit more respect in people's voices than she had heard in this pilot's. Kayil could only hope this wouldn't be a sign of things to come.

"Copy, Lancer. Lead the way. Would you like to talk to the Republic representatives?"

"There will be no need, captain. My squadron will simply be escorting you. There will be no need for me to interact with your Jedi." The pilot didn't seem all that disappointed with the fact that he wouldn't be talking with them, Kayil noted with another grimace. She felt Nakiri by her side shift uncomfortably.

"Copy, Lancer," the captain said again, sounding more than a bit testy herself. "Guide us in."

The comms officer took back over smoothly at a gesture from the captain, switching the audio channel over from the speakers to his own headset and arranging a flight path with the squadron leader, which he then passed along to the man at the helm controls. The captain, meanwhile, swiveled her chair to face the two Jedi standing behind her chair.

"Apologies, master Kayil. That was a much more tense interaction than I was expecting. I get the feeling that the pilot doesn't approve of your order...?"

Kayil's tone was perfectly neutral as she responded. "I know very little on the matter, captain. Barely more than you do, I daresay. Ranos has been off-limits to outsiders for the past three centuries, and the Republic was never willing to violate their independence. I'm not certain what their objection to my order may be. My hope is that it's simply the personal feelings of this 'Lancer' rather than cultural bias. Otherwise, this diplomatic mission may turn out to be... problematic."

The captain grunted her agreement. "I don't like the situation, master Kayil. Will you be safe down there? We already knew they were hostile to outsiders, and now this. And then there are the reports of separatist activity here, and... I don't like it, master Kayil. I think we should send some of the clones with you as a guard complement."

Kayil smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "My Padawan and I have diplomatic immunity, captain Geralda. I doubt that these people will be willing to risk a counterattack from the Republic, regardless of their personal feelings towards myself or Nakiri."

The captain looked like she was about to argue the point, her eyes darting to the clone trooper standing by the bridge doors and no doubt thinking how much more comfortable she would be if she could send him and half a dozen of his friends down to the planet's surface as an escort to the two Jedi who had been placed under her protection. Before she could say anything further, though, her comms officer interrupted. "Ranos fighters have assumed escort positions, captain." Geralda looked torn for a moment, then gritted her teeth and turned to face the viewport again, leaving Kayil to direct her own attention in the same direction.

Two of the fighters were visible in the corners of that viewport, and it took Kayil a moment to figure out what she was looking at.

The fighters were of a design that she couldn't place, and had been painted an ugly mixture of bright yellow and neon orange. They were very industrial looking designs, with jagged and square edges, outcroppings of metal and machinery, exposed fuel lines and power cables. They appeared to be missing almost half of the armor that should have covered them, and all the pieces that they _did_ have seemed mismatched, of differing sizes and shapes. They were certainly not designed to be streamlined. Kayil doubted they could even fly in an atmosphere. Aesthetically speaking, they were a mess, clunky and misshapen, and painted in patterns that were a brutal assault on the eyes. They didn't even look especially functional. The engines of one of the fighters seemed minuscule in comparison to its bulk and the heavy layered armor that covered the front end, while the other appeared asymmetrical. The left side was covered in ill-fitting hull plating, while the other was totally unarmoured and built in a completely different shape. Who the hell-?

"Caraya's soul," Nakiri muttered, disbelief coating her every word so much that her true accent showed through. "Uglies! They're operating _uglies_ _!_ I knew this place was a backwater, but..."

Suddenly it all fell into place. 'Uglies' were starfighters made up of parts from several ships of different models, cobbled together and fused into a contraption that, while technically operational, generally made for, at best, a bumpy and unwieldy ride, or, at worst, an uncontrollable disaster just begging to crash into any solid object that came too close. The best pilot in the galaxy in the cockpit of most uglies couldn't hope to compete against even a reasonably competent pilot in a good, practical V-wing. For that reason, they were only operated as a last resort, or by fleets and planets that couldn't afford anything better. Nakiri, back in her days salvaging scrapyards on Coruscant, had helped to cobble together more than a few uglies herself - usually for unsavory customers who had no doubt immediately turned around and sold them to pirates or slavers in the outer rim.

The captain turned her chair slowly back around to face the two Jedi. Kayil smiled down at her. "And you thought we were going to be in danger. Judging from what their space force looks like, I'd be surprised if their ground troops are armed with more than popguns."

The captain snorted. "Don't get too cocky, master Kayil. They've still got multiple capital ships and stations in orbit. Clearly they do have at least some military resources. Plus, there's the fact that you were sent here in the first place. The Republic wouldn't have sent two Jedi if this planet wasn't a serious threat." Kayil let her smile recede, and nodded begrudgingly. The captain was right. This was a reclusive, militarized kingdom with heavily enforced border policies and a population of millions - though just how many nobody outside the kingdom itself probably knew. Still, they couldn't be _that_ dangerous if they were operating a squadron of uglies!

She cleared her throat. "Captain, I don't believe we are needed here anymore, and my Padawan and I need to retrieve our luggage and prepare to disembark. Permission to go aft?"

"Granted," the captain replied. "But master Kayil... I'm gonna be staying in a low orbit throughout your entire stay, and at the first sign of trouble, I am gonna be coming down there to pull you out and haul tail back to Coruscant. I don't care how strategically important this place might be, I am not letting two generals risk themselves over a third-rate hermit kingdom at the ass-end of nowhere. You got that?"

Kayil nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Yes, captain. We'll be careful. Your concern is appreciated."

The captain stared at her for another moment, then nodded sharply and turned to face the helmsman. "Taz! See if you can angle for a good look at one of those stations on the way past. Make it subtle, though."

Kayil and Nakiri left the bridge, returning to their quarters to retrieve their bags. A few seconds after the doors to the bridge slid shut behind them, Nakiri audibly sighed.

"Is something wrong?" asked Kayil.

"The captain's right, you know. This whole situation is off. There's something about it that makes me uneasy. You meditated on the way here, right?"

"I did," Kayil replied, careful not to let any extra meaning slip into the simple sentence.

"Then you must have felt it too! There's darkness here. Dark minds, dark places. The whole planet is tainted."

"There wasn't _that_ much, not as far as I could tell."

"A small amount of corruption is all it takes, master, you know that. The dark side is insidious. Once it takes root, it will inevitably grow."

Kayil made a noncommittal noise.

"Master Kayil-"

"Nakiri. This is not the time. We are here to convince these people that joining the Republic would be best for them. Suspicion and accusations are not the best way to go about that."

"You felt what I felt, didn't you? Fury, rage, loss of control. There are force sensitive people down there, and they are living without the guidance and care of the Jedi order. No Jedi has set foot on Ranos in three hundred years, what do you think we're going to find down there? I'm just saying, master, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Enough, Nakiri." A hard edge had crept into Kayil's voice, and the Padawan's mouth snapped shut immediately. Kayil breathed deep, let her feelings settle, reached out with her senses, took hold of the threads of the force, anchored herself against the emotion... "That's enough," she said again, more calmly. "I understand your concerns. But we are here as diplomats, so I don't want you mentioning any of this while we are down on that planet's surface, not to anyone but me. Even talking to me about it should be kept to a minimum. Resentment festers, and it will make it more difficult to deal with these people if in secret we are harboring suspicions about them. I know it's there, and trust me when I say that I will be keeping a careful eye on it. But regardless of what we might sense, we have our mission. Do you understand me, Kayil?"

A moment's pause, then: "I understand, master." Flat; calm; collected. Good.

Kayil came to a stop in front of the door to her cabin. "Very well, Nakiri. This is my room. Go get your own bags, and I'll see you on the shuttle."

"Yes, master." Nakiri was looking down at Kayil's boots. Perhaps she had been too hard on the girl.

"Nakiri? Nakiri, look at me."

The younger woman's green eyes rose to meet Kayil's. "Very good. I do understand your concerns, really I do. But we have a job to do here. Okay?"

"Yes, master." The Padawan nodded, her eyes drifting away from Kayil's again.

"Right. Go. Get ready. I'll meet you at the docking umbilical. And Nakiri-" The younger woman had started to turn away, heading for her own room, but she paused. Kayil's voice lowered. "Keep your lightsaber on your person throughout the whole mission. Even when you sleep, I want it to be within your reach. Set noise traps at windows and doors of your sleeping chambers, and whenever possible, use a restorative trance rather than actually sleeping. Understood?"

"Yes, master," Nakiri said again, with much more conviction this time.

* * *

Nakiri slipped into a comfortable seat on the small shuttlecraft that had latched onto the underside of the _Invulnerable,_ setting one of her light suitcases down in the seat beside her. She didn't own much, and while the trip from Coruscant to the edge of the Unknown Regions was long by hyperspace standards, she hadn't had enough time onboard to unpack everything, so packing had been a simple matter of picking up her suitcases and folding up the cot.

Her master took the seat on her other side, and across from them sat the two clone troopers who captain Geralda had insisted on sending with them, with their helmets on and their blasters resting across their laps.

The grizzled pilot glanced back over his shoulder at the passengers. He was human - the records indicated that most of the population of Ranos was. There were a few mentions of nonhuman native sentients living out in the "sunwastes," the regions of the planet that saw perpetual daylight, but all three of the shuttle's crew members were human.

"Alright. Is everyone aboard who's coming aboard?" asked the pilot. "We're passing over Suryasta city now, so now's the time."

Master Kayil heaved her own luggage up into the seat beside her, then replied "Yes, we're ready. Go ahead."

"Right. Detaching."

With a loud, metallic _"clang!"_ the tiny shuttle detached from the bulk of the cruiser. There was a slight jolt as the onboard gravity generators kicked in and took over from those of the larger ship, and then a rumble as the engines engaged. _Invulnerable_ dropped away behind them and they rocketed down towards the planet. Kayil watched one of the uglies detach from the main squadron and follow along just above one of the shuttle's wings, but the rest continued to circle the cruiser like huge, poorly constructed, terminally ill birds of prey.

"Alright, Jedi. Strap in tight, and hang onto your luggage. The Ranos atmospheric reentry can be a bit rough on people who've never handled it before but trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Beside Kayil, Nakiri's breathing had changed subtly, and she watched the approaching planet with wide eyes, the muscles in her jaw clenching. After a few moments of silence, she cleared her throat and called out to the pilot in a tone that tried and failed to be nonchalant. "So, uh, sir? Why is reentering this particular atmosphere so much more difficult than others?"

The pilot made an adjustment to his course, then glanced back over his shoulder at her. "Well, miss, that would be because of the fact that Ranos is tidally locked."

"Yes, I'd heard about that..." Nakiri glanced out the viewport at the red wasteland slipping by underneath them. The sun was directly at their back, and it was sinking in the sky as they got lower. By the time they reached the ground, it would be dusk, but since the sun didn't move in the sky of Ranos, it would remain dusk throughout their entire stay on the planet. The city of Suryasta was built right on the terminator line between the day and night halves of the planet. "I know that it's tidally locked, sir, but, uh, why would that make reentry any more difficult?"

The pilot glanced back again. "Are you sure you want to be thinking too hard about this? You already seem pretty worked up. Do you really want to scare yourself more by-"

Kayil interrupted him. "There are constant hurricane-force winds that blow along the ground from the bright side to the dark side. They have blasted the surface into the waste that you see below you. Meanwhile, high altitude winds flow in the opposite direction at similar speeds."

One might have expected Nakiri to become even more nervous upon receiving this information. Certainly, given the vicious look which he gave Kayil, that was how the pilot was expecting her to react. It was a look that said _Stop meddling,_ _I don't need a panicked passenger on my shuttle, this is going to be hard enough already_. Surprisingly, though, Nakiri's eyes narrowed in thought, followed by a wide-eyed look of curiosity directed at Kayil. "Fascinating. Why is that, master?"

Kayil smiled. "I must admit, meteorology was never my strong suit. As I understand it, though, there are two weather systems: hot air at high altitudes carries heat from the day side into the night side, and then lower altitude winds of higher-density wind rushes in from the night to the day to fill in the low-pressure region left behind. There's more complexity to it, I'm sure, but that's the simple explanation."

Nakiri had known perfectly well what she was doing when she asked for information about the descent. She was a scientifically curious sort, and would probably be able to distract herself throughout the entire reentry procedure. She licked her lips, took out her datapad, and began punching in search terms. Beside her, the Jedi master sank back into her seat and breathed deep. She didn't have the advantage of being able to distract herself like that. She would have to handle this the old-fashioned way. She closed her eyes and inhaled even deeper.

It was about another minute before the shuttle arrived in the upper layers of the planet's atmosphere. Their fighter escort broke off and made for orbit in order to rejoin the rest of its squadron. It didn't look like it was capable of handling _any_ atmosphere, let alone the extremes of a Ranos reentry. A couple of minutes after that, as the sun continued to sink towards the horizon, a high-pitched howling could he heard and tiny shudders began to run through the shuttle's deck and walls. Then all of a sudden the whole shuttle was buffeted by a tooth-rattling gust, and the whine of over-strained repulsorlifts began to reverberate through the deck. Through it all, Kayil breathed, never letting the signs of danger break her calm. She was safe. The shuttle pilot said he knew what he was doing. The Force had her. She was safe... Over and over again, she repeated those thoughts as the shuttle was flung about like a leaf in a gale and the hot wind roared by just outside the thin walls. The dust in the wind hissed against the bulkhead just behind her.

Finally, the rattling died down to a bearable level, and she allowed herself to open her eyes. The first place she looked was the seat beside her, checking on her Padawan. Nakiri stared unblinkingly at the datapad cradled in her lap, eyebrows creased in a look of concentration, apparently completely oblivious to the world around her. Kayil breathed a sigh of relief that turned into a chuckle. Dull red light shone in through the shuttle's viewports. The two clone troopers across the aisle from her had apparently not moved at all since the descent began, and Kayil found herself wondering for the millionth time just what they had been put through on Kamino to give them this level of composure. One of them sensed her stare and glanced over at her, his expression unreadable behind his opaque faceplate.

"Alright," the pilot said, sounding just as relieved as Kayil felt, "If you Jedi back there want to look out the viewport now, you should be able to see the city." Kayil craned her head to look through the viewport that was on the other side of Nakiri, who was still engrossed in her study.

The city of Suryasta was built in the shadow of a huge, jagged mountain range. The ridge towered over it, and from her angle from inside the shuttle, Kayil couldn't even see some of the peaks. The dim red light filtered over the mountains, illuminating the thin, tenuous veils of sand and dust that were being whipped off the tops of the mountains. The shuttle itself was flying just below the level of those peaks, using the calm wind shadow behind them to reduce speed, regain composure and give the pilot a break before he came in to make a landing. The repulsorlifts had stopped whining under the strain, and now the shuttle drifted through the dim, dusty sky like a swan gliding across the surface of a pond.

The cityscape stretched out under them. A dozen huge silver towers in the middle reminded her of Coruscant, though even from this far away she could tell they weren't nearly as large as the buildings she had grown up in. Around them, smaller towers stretched away along the main thoroughfares like spokes of a wheel spreading out from that central hub, and beyond that was the main city, a spiderweb of streets, windows, buildings large and small, (though no building in the city seemed to be less than about five stories tall as far as Kayil could tell, she had been born on Coruscant, and by her standards they were tiny) all marching outwards in remarkably orderly and efficient concentric circles, radiating out from those central spires, all glittering in the indirect light of the eternal sunset that filtered over the mountains.

And then, suddenly, the city ended and farmland began. There were offshoots of the city, arms stretching out into the countryside, but everywhere Kayil looked there was a single dividing line. On one side, city. On the other, a few meters away, crops and orchards, spreading out towards the mountains in the distance, where they rose suddenly into the sky, scraps of farmland still clinging to whatever plateaus they could find on the slopes. More towers glittered there, much like the midsize skyscrapers in the second or third ring of the city, but jutting out from the slopes or perched precariously on outcroppings that seemed far too small for them. Some were perched so high up the cliffs that Kayil suspected that, had she been able to see the tallest peaks, she would have seen them peering over the tops and gleaming in the direct sunlight.

"Every square inch of usable land, we've put to use," the shuttle pilot said with a note of pride in his voice. "Ice is shipped in from the night side where it gets carried by the wind and falls as snow. Mirror arrays on the tops of the cliffs redirect sunlight down onto the fields to simulate a day-night cycle, which many of these plants still need, even after centuries of living here. The solar arrays on the mountains are always receiving direct sunlight, letting them provide all the electricity we need, so we don't have to mine for fuel. We've made a good life for ourselves here."

"Yes, I can see that." Kayil was still staring at the surprisingly advanced skyline as the shuttle began to descend further towards the cityscape below and the telltale flashing lights of a landing pad. "I'll be perfectly honest, I'm surprised. Nobody from the Republic has been here in a very long time, so I didn't have much to judge off of, but based on the state of that squadron we saw up in orbit..."

The pilot chuckled. "Noticed that, did you? Yeah, well, we've never had much need to build up a big, expensive military. If I recall correctly, neither did the Republic until a few years ago, right? We're not at war with the Confederacy, so there hasn't been a need for us to build up our fleet in the same way that you have. To let you in on a secret, though, most of those buildings down there are really old. They're mostly holdovers from the Republic era, back before Ranos became an independent world."

Kayil looked down at the skyline. Now that she knew to look for it, she did see some signs of wear and tear. Wind-blasted paneling, some windows that had been filled in with cheap materials to replace presumably broken glass, stains and scuffs on the white spires. "So the military isn't a priority, then?"

"Not the spaceborne forces, no. I don't think I should say much more. I'm sure lady Elaiza will want to discuss all of this with you personally when you meet her."

Kayil filed this away. At the very least she would be able to report back to the Republic that this place wasn't as big of a threat.

"Ah, something you should be aware of, though. I heard from one of his squadmates that Lancer was the one who greeted you?"

"He was."

"Yeah... I imagine that didn't go over especially well."

"Not as bad as it could have."

"Still. You should probably know that anti-Jedi sentiments are pretty strong in certain circles of Everdawn society, particularly among people like Lancer and his... uh... order."

"Order?"

The pilot was silent for a moment, easing the shuttle down onto the landing pad. From what Kayil had seen, though, he was an extremely skilled pilot. Certainly enough of one to talk while doing a mundane maneuver like parking. She got the distinct feeling that he was stalling for time.

With a light bump, the shuttle touched down and the pilot turned in his seat to fully face Kayil. "The Umbral Knights. I'm sure you'll learn about them eventually. Uh, you should probably get the kid to listen to this, too. This concerns her."

Kayil nudged Nakiri with her elbow, and the younger woman bolted upright, looking confused for a moment. "Yeah? What? Umbral knights? What are they?" she said in a rush. As far as Kayil had been able to tell in the three years she had spent training the girl, Nakiri did tend to keep half an ear listening to whatever conversations were going on in the room. The content of that conversation just tended not to filter through to her mind until she had been brought back to reality.

The pilot smirked at this odd response but continued his explanation without commenting on it. "Alright. The umbral knights are force users like you guys. They separated from the Jedi order around the same time Ranos separated from the Republic. Anyone born on Ranos who shows force potential is brought to them to go through testing and enter training if they turn out to be gifted. I don't know many of the specifics, I don't go in for that mysticism stuff, but one thing I do know is they don't really approve of the Jedi teachings, whatever those might be. Lancer is one of them. He's important, he's powerful, he's wealthy, from what I've heard he has a grudge against Jedi that goes beyond most of the Umbral knights... he's bad news for people like you, and I suggest you stay well clear. And if anyone asks, I didn't tell you any of this. I don't want to attract his attention, either."

Kayil's eyes narrowed. Force users operating outside the Jedi order. That was bad enough on its own. But a whole order of them, and an order that openly disliked the Jedi...? _What have I gotten myself into?_ Beside her, Nakiri seemed to be having a similar response.

Kayil broke the silence before it became too painful. "Thank you, mister...?"

"Adorac, ma'am. Adorac Balam."

She nodded deeply, as close to a bow as she could accomplish while seated. "Thank you, mister Adorac, for the information, and for the advice. I believe my Padawan and I had best be going now. We have an important appointment to keep."

"You're welcome, ma'am. Good luck. Your other bags will be brought to your rooms as soon as they are assigned."

She stood, bowed again, her brown robe sweeping around her, then picked up her bag from the seat and walked towards the door. Adorac touched a button on the arm of his chair and the hatch slid open, letting Kayil step down onto the landing pad and hoist her bag after her, setting it down on the tarmac. Dust drifted down from the sky above, and even here, sheltered by the mountains, wind whipped at her hair and sent the robes fluttering about her legs.

Nakiri followed immediately after her, still clutching her datapad, and looked around. The landing pad was positioned in the outer regions of the settlement, on the roof of a complex that took up an entire block. The pad was mostly empty, but a black aircar idled on the far side, floating half an inch above the ground, with a chauffeur waiting politely outside the open door. The glittering spires of the inner city rose in the distance.

"Whoa. City. Wasn't expecting that."

"Indeed. You should have seen it from the air."

"Well, why didn't you point it out?"

"Mister Adorac did. You were busy."

"Oh." Nakiri sheepishly fiddled with her robe. "I found out some neat things about weather, though."

"Very good, padawan. And I'm sure I'll hear all about it next time we're alone, whether I want to or not. Come on." The jab was lighthearted, and Nakiri's only response was to smile, pick up her bag, and hurry after her master towards the waiting aircar.

* * *

The throne room of the kingdom of Everdawn was absolutely gorgeous.

Situated at the top of the highest of the great skyscrapers in the heart of Suryasta city, it took up half of the entire penthouse space of the building, all full of huge glass windows and elegant plasteel arches, grand sweeping staircases, and broad balconies for observers to stand out of the way of the proceedings. The throne room was lit by natural light streaming in through the huge, tinted windows that ringed the space, combined with light fixtures in hidden alcoves that bounced their dim light off of large, curved mirrors, casting a dull, diffuse glow over the entire chamber, reminiscent of the way the mountaintop mirrors angled the light down into the valley and allowed life in Suryastra to exist.

The main floor was divided into three levels: the debate space was the lowest, placing those who spoke there symbolically beneath the eyes of all who watched them. The next level was where the seats were positioned, where lady Elaiza's court sat and watched the proceedings, offering opinions when they were called for. Finally, at one end of the room, on the highest pedestal in the chamber and behind a low banister was Lady Zhu Elaiza, regally decked out in Everdawn formal wear: sleek, black and red suit clothes with a fold-over front and long skirt, made complete with a forest green cape and the thin silver presence crown of the Zhu dynasty. Her legs were crossed, her back straight, and the fingers of one hand were tapping impatiently on the arm of her throne as she gazed coldly down at the resplendent man standing on the debate floor.

"...My lady, lord Kathka is clearly incapable of truly controlling the Dust Ridge barony. His reckless and dangerous disregard for the safety and well being of his fellow citizens and of the kingdom, in general, makes him unworthy of controlling such an important and vital holding. Whether his most recent failure was a result of simple stupidity or of rampant corruption and pocketing of maintenance funds is beside the point. I can no longer overlook his flagrant violations of the oaths he swore when he first took office and was granted the holding in question."

High Lady Zhu Elaiza, Queen of Everdawn, Duchess of Suryasta and the Wind's Edge Protectorate, Countess of the Orojin Belt, and liege of the House of Lords and the Umbral Knights was not a woman who was prone to frustration. She prided herself on that. In spite of the 'concerns' she knew were still echoed by some members of the House of Lords when she was not in the room, she was actually quite diligent and attentive in her duties as a queen - even the more irritating aspects of acting as the kingdom's highest authority. Her tutors when she was younger had always complimented her on her patience, her ability to maintain composure in stressful situations, and her calm and reasonable approach to solving problems.

That being said, she could recognize a waste of her time when she saw one, and she had absolutely no tolerance for it. Her patience was being stretched to its limit by Lord Aksur's most recent round of accusations and attacks against his fellow lords. Today it was Lord Kathka of Dust Ridge, whose barony included the two mirror arrays that had recently broken down and wound up directing sunlight onto a specific area of Lord Aksur's cropland for 34 hours straight, resulting in the soil drying out and the destruction of most of the harvest. It hadn't really been Lord Kathka's fault, though, and he had already offered a public apology and to pay for the damages out of his own pocket. But of course, Aksur, ever the opportunist, had swooped in to depose his long-time rival. There weren't many in the court who _weren't_ Aksur's long-time rivals, even among his so-called "allies".

She gestured for Lord Kathka to step forward. He rose from his seat at the front of the court and descended to the debate floor to face her, Aksur shrinking into the background.

"Lord Kathka, I believe we all know the facts of the case, and I _know_ we have all heard Lord Aksur's views on the matter..." She glanced over at the man, looking smug and insufferable as ever. She kept her expression carefully neutral. _Be the painting. Be that stoic portrait of your father._

Kathka really had done nothing wrong as far as she could tell. The maintenance worker whose sloppiness had resulted in the destruction of the farmland had been appropriately disciplined, and Lord Kathka had offered multiple formal apologies since the incident, including one while it was still in progress. This was political posturing, and her patience was running thin. But that would be undiplomatic. Aksur was a powerful man, and she couldn't afford his displeasure or the disapproval of his allies. She wished she could offer her open support for Lord Kathka. Perhaps it would even result in a duel. It was always so satisfying watching Kathka put another lord in his place with a blade.

She shook off her fantasies. Life was not so simple. "So, Lord Kathka. Is there anything you wish to present to this court by way of explanation, defense or apology?" she continued. Eyes hooded, breath level. Keep it cool.

"Yes, my lady," Kathka replied. "As I have already stated, this was the fault of a single maintenance worker, and arguably the sloppiness of a few of his fellows. I have already applied appropriate punishment to the guilty party and placed his coworkers under review. New policies are being prepared to prevent future incidents like this, and said policies are available for review if the court-"

"These are excuses, my lady!" interrupted Aksur. "And besides, a lord is responsible for all those within his domain. His mirrors have caused damages, he should not be trying to pass the blame onto-"

Zhu Elaiza raised one hand, and Aksur's mouth snapped shut. His shoulders slumped forward. "Apologies, my lady." He withdrew a few steps behind his opponent, trying his best not to be too obvious in his brooding.

"If I may continue, my lady?" requested Kathka, perfectly courteous as ever.

Elaiza was about to gesture for him to resume when an aide rose from a seat near the wall and darted to the side of her throne. The aide whispered briefly into her ear, and her attention snapped away from the proceedings on the floor below her.

"My lady. The Republic representatives have arrived. Jedi. Two: one master, one padawan."

Ah. The Republic representatives. Of course. Reestablishing contact with the rest of the galaxy. The most important thing any sitting monarch of Everdawn had done in a century. And here, in the middle of it, she was dealing with this idiot and his meager ploy for power. It was a dance, and she understood it well. A carefully choreographed, elegant, and totally pointless dance, and she had no time for it. Consequences be damned.

She waved the aide away and fixed her eyes back on Lord Kathka. "No, my lord, I think that will be all we need. We understand the situation, and I believe this court is ready to make its judgment."

Lord Aksur was taken off-guard by this. "M-my lady? My lady, I still have things to say about the case at hand! As the prosecution and a member of the House of Lords, I have the right to-"

"If you have something to say, say it. No doubt you were going to demand that Lord Kathka give up his holding at Dust Ridge, and then when that was inevitably denied you would make your actual demand, so let's just skip the formalities and go straight to what you actually want from this court. I'm sure we all have places to be, and this session is dragging on far longer than any of us had planned on."

"Why... why, my lady, I..." She smirked at his flustered attitude. He clearly knew he was caught, and that she would put up with no more. He drew himself up to his full height, grey mustache bristling, one hand landing on the hilt of his ceremonial sword. "I want nothing more than a recognition of the wrong that Lord Kathka has done me, and a personal apology from him. Accompanied by an appropriate monetary incentive for my forgiveness, of course."

Lady Elaiza almost had to laugh. "If it's a matter of honor, my lord, I believe we all know how it should be resolved. Lord Kathka, is your sword sharp?"

"It is, my lady."

Lord Aksur's eyes went wide. "Wait just a moment, I-"

"Very well. Lord Aksur, you have my official permission to challenge any person in this room to a duel of honor if you so wish it. The regular ban on challenges within the throneroom is lifted - though, of course, no weapon may be drawn here." Elaiza was pleased to see several other lords and ladies leaning forward in the court, their own smiles of triumph matching hers.

"Thank you, my lady." Aksur bowed stiffly, his hand landing on the hilt of his sword, his other clasped across his chest. He turned on his heel, hard-soled shoes landing with a snap, facing Kathka. He couldn't very well back down now while still saving face, and she watched with barely-contained amusement as Aksur offered one hand to his opponent. "A duel," he declared, a note of defeat sneaking into his voice.

Kathka grinned and gave Aksur a deep, graceful bow. "Indeed! A duel! As the defender, I choose swords as the weapon." He clasped his opponent's hand and muttered something else to him that Elaiza couldn't hear.

Lady Elaiza stood with a rustle of fine fabric, echoed a moment later by the rest of the courtiers. "Lord Kathka, Lord Aksur, you will meet in twenty-eight hours on the field of honor. Your duel will be fought with swords and will continue until one party is forced to yield or is rendered incapable of yielding. Now, unless there is anything else to be brought to the floor, I should like to dismiss this session and deal with some other affairs of state."

There was silence. No other lords or ladies stepped forward with an issue to declare before the court. She nodded decisively and said, "This session of the House of Lords of the Kingdom of Everdawn is hereby adjourned."

There was the sound of scraping chair legs and hushed conversation as various lords and ladies began to file out of the room in a fluttering current of colorful silks. Elaiza watched them go, herself standing stalk-still in front of the throne. Down on the debate floor, Aksur glared up at her until the room was almost empty, then pivoted and stormed out, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. As much as she had enjoyed calling him out like that, Elaiza knew she would have trouble with him later.

Ah, well. She could deal with it.

She turned to her aide and lowered her voice. "Lin. Walk with me." She started towards the small, unassuming door positioned behind the throne, her assistant trailing along in her wake. Lin was a short woman, and she had to jog to keep up with Elaiza's longer strides. Elaiza wasn't a giant by any means, but her legs were considerably longer and she had always possessed what her father had always referred to as a "stride of singular purpose."

As soon as she left the throne room into the narrow, red-carpeted hallway that led to her personal chambers, she removed the thin silver crown and passed it to Lin, who took it reverently. As soon as it left her hand, the queen sighed in relief, as if it was far heavier than it really was. She set off down the hall towards the single door at the far end.

"So. Lin. The Jedi. Where are they staying?"

"The grand tower. Three floors down. The Niriam suite."

"Good. Good. Easy to keep an eye on them, but it also doesn't seem like I'm letting them get too close. Well done, Lin."

"Thank you, my lady."

They passed through the door into Elaiza's personal study, a tight, cozy space filled with shelves of paper books, with her desk and a holoprojector at the center. As well as the one they had just stepped through, two more doors led off to other parts of the royal suite. The opposite wall was mostly made up of picture windows, just like the throne room, but these were untinted and offered an unobstructed view of the breathtaking landscape outside, the city below, and the fields stretching away to the mountains in the distance.

"How many of the other lords know they've arrived?"

"Most of them. And those that don't will very soon. I saw at least seventeen courtiers listening to something in their earpiece during the last portion of the meeting. That leaves at most ten who don't know that we have visitors on the planet. And those ones will be listening for any word of their arrival as well. You made sure of that when you announced your plan to receive Republic diplomats."

Elaiza nodded absently. She crossed the room to her desk, picking up the tall, thin pitcher of emerald wine she had left there and pouring a glass of the light green liquid. "Well, what's done is done. And it's probably for the best that the decision doesn't surprise them. Besides, word travels fast at the best of times." She took a sip and settled into the chair behind the desk. She put down the glass and leaned forward, interlocking her fingers and frowning over her clasped hands. Lin, well acquainted with her lady's mannerisms, stood expectantly over to one side, pulling out her datapad and preparing to take a note of Elaiza's next command.

"Bring them here," Elaiza said at length.

"My lady?"

"I want to speak to them. Before we're officially introduced. It will be... 19 hours until the next court gathering when we can officially present them and announce the reopening of relations, but I'd like to start my dealings with them now."

"Yes, my lady." Lin dutifully took the note and sent it off to the appropriate people to make it happen. "Will that be all, my lady?"

"Yes, thank you, Lin. I should wind down so that I can get some sleep after meeting with them."

Lin bowed and turned to the windows, tapping some commands into her datapad and causing a reddish tint to creep into them, too, reducing light levels to prepare her lady for bed.

"Oh, there is one more thing, actually."

Lin turned to face her again, one finger poised over the datapad.

"Has there been any word about our other guests?"

"No, my lady. None so far. I'll tell you as soon as I receive word."

Elaiza sighed. "Alright. Don't hesitate to wake me up if I'm sleeping when you get word about them reaching orbit. I will want to know as soon as possible. Understood?"

"Yes, my lady. You'll be informed as soon as the delegation from the Seperatists arrives."


	2. Chapter 2

The sleek black hovercar landed on a small pad jutting out from the tallest of the skyscrapers in the city's center, and several servants waiting in the doorway hurried out to meet it. By the time Kayil and Nakiri had stepped out of the vehicle, their bags had already been removed from the trunk and the luggage pods on the sides and were already being carried towards the building. In moments, they were gone, disappearing back through the doors, leaving the Jedi with just three figures waiting for them by the doors, all wrapped in heavy, layered robes with high collars, made with some sort of smooth, shiny material. The Jedi exchanged a glance and walked towards them, the high wind whipping dust in their faces. Their armored clone escort, helmeted now and moving in tandem with precise military discipline, fell in behind them.

"Honoured delegates!" the middle figure called in a deep, masculine, strangely accented voice. He stepped forward to meet them and bowed low, gloved hands sweeping out in a complex greeting gesture. "My mistress, Her Ladyship Zhu Elaiza, Queen of Everdawn, Duchess of Suryasta and the Wind's Edge Protectorate, Countess of the Orojin Belt, and liege of the House of Lords and the Umbral Knights would like to meet with you at your earliest convenience! Your bags will be taken to your room. Please accompany me." The figure straightened back up, his robes rippling in the high wind. The glint of goggles under his hood reflected the eternal sunset, and the rest of his face was obscured by a scarf.

"Thank you! Please, lead the way!" Kayil replied, raising her voice over the high wind and squinting to try to get a better look at her host in spite of the dust.

The figure bowed again, then he and the two figures flanking him turned as one and walked into the building. The Jedi and clones followed close behind into what looked like a large airlock. The outer door shut behind them.

As soon as the tone sounded, indicating an established seal, their three escorts all pulled down their hoods and began loosening their scarves and pushing their goggles up onto their heads. Their guide was a young, tall, pale man, clean-shaven but with long dark hair tied back in a braid. A band of ugly pink scar tissue surrounded his eyes and stretched over the bridge of his nose. He looked the two Jedi over with a pair of clearly robotic, amber-colored eyes, offered them a friendly smile and nodded in greeting. When Kayil glanced at the other two, (one woman, one man, both human; there really didn't seem to be many aliens on Ranos, and Kayil wondered if that was the reason for two human Jedi being sent to negotiate with them) she noted similar features among the three: very pale skin, angular features, dark hair, all long and braided in the same way. The Republic clones did not follow their hosts' example. Their helmets remained securely in place.

A moment later the door in front slid open. "This way." Their guide gestured for them to follow, and led the Republic delegation out of the airlock and into the palace of the kingdom of Everdawn.

They walked out into a huge empty lobby that looked like it could double as a ballroom, under a pair of floating chandeliers suspended on countergrav rings. They crossed the huge chamber, the clicks of the clones' plasteel boots echoing on the hard floor.

Their guide gestured them into a large and luxurious elevator. "This way, if you please."

The Jedi stepped in, still accompanied by their escort. Their guides followed them, and the leader pressed the button for the 143rd floor – the penthouse. The doors slid shut, and Kayil's stomach tightened as the elevator started moving.

"So. Your hoods," Kayil said to break the silence.

Their guide with the amber eyes looked quizzical, then brightened in understanding. "Ah. Yes. I suppose you wouldn't be familiar with that. Well. Surely you noticed the dust?"

Nakiri nodded. "We did, yes. It was deeply unpleasant. So it's to keep that out of your face?"

"More or less. That dust is constant and it irritates the eyes and skin. It also tends to get stuck in one's hair. You were only out in it for a minute, but... well, I'll show you. Shake your head, if you please?"

Nakiri raised an eyebrow and hesitantly turned her head back and forth.

The guard chuckled. "No, no, like this!" He shut his eyes and vigorously shook his head, his long black braid flying out and whipping around in his enthusiasm. "Come now, Jedi, surely your order isn't _that_ repressive! No need to be proper here. None of us are dignitaries!"

Nakiri shook her head, albeit still lacking some of the guard's forcefulness. A sheet of fine dust blew off her hair, and Kayil shielded her eyes amidst the guard's laughter. "Don't worry, you can shower later. In the future, though, I recommend wearing a hood if you're going outside the tower. It reduces the amount of time and water we have to use for cleaning up. Your robes will likely be insufficient. You will be provided with more appropriate garb later. Ah, here we are!"

This last was accompanied by a quiet "ding!" and the doors sliding smoothly open, revealing another large empty chamber, this one with a high throne on a pedestal at one end and a glass facade revealing the breathtaking view of the dust being whipped off the tops of the mountains and being caught in the bright red sunbeams. The guides made no move to exit the elevator. Kayil and Nakiri stepped out, and their clone escort started to follow, but the amber-eyed guardsman reached out an arm to stop them.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Your guardsmen are not permitted on the upper floor." The clones looked at Kayil for orders, and she held up a placating hand. They glanced at each other, then took a step back into the elevator. The amber-eyed guardsman wasn't done yet, though. He stepped forward out of the elevator and held out a gloved hand to the two Jedi.

"I am, ah, afraid I will also have to ask for your weapons to be left here with me. They will be returned to you when you leave the upper floor." His smile was soft and pleasant. His mechanical eyes didn't blink.

Kayil and Nakiri didn't have to look at each other. They could both sense each other's unease. _But,_ Kayil chided herself, _we're here as diplomats. If they don't want us armed when we meet with their monarch, that's their right, and it's perfectly reasonable._ Kayil reached inside her robes and pulled out the small, black cylinder, and she felt her Padawan doing the same. Both held out the hilts to the weapons, Nakiri showing just a tiny bit more hesitance than her master did. The man's smile never wavered. He reached out one hand to each and carefully wrapped his fingers around both lightsabers. As he did, one gloved finger brushed against Kayil's palm.

She felt his power then, and she wondered how she had managed to miss it before. This man was easily as strong with the force as most Jedi knights she had met. But at the same time, he felt different. Usually, touching another force-sensitive person for her was like dipping her fingers into a calm, cold pool. This man was more like plunging her hands into a rapid stream. His power wasn't just _there,_ waiting to be used. It was rushing, surging, crashing against his resolve, having to be actively held back.

Nakiri snatched her hand away as if she had been burnt. Kayil withdrew far more slowly, not even letting a frown cloud her face. The amber-eyed guardsman's smile was just as courteous and friendly as ever. She bowed, mimicking his earlier bow, and he returned the gesture.

"Thank you." The weapons disappeared into the layers of his robes. "Enjoy your meeting, Jedi." He turned and swept back out in a flurry of low-friction dark robes. The doors of the elevator slid shut, leaving the two Jedi alone in the huge, empty chamber.

Nakiri turned to her as soon as the doors were shut. "You felt that, didn't you, master?"

"Yes. Yes, I did."

"He was... he's..." she glanced at the elevator doors, and lowered her voice. "Sith?"

Kayil shook her head emphatically. "If I thought he was Sith, I would certainly not have let him disarm me. No. I suspect, Nakiri, that we have just met one of those Umbral knights that mister Adoran warned us about."

"But he's... he's a _dark side_ user! You felt that! What difference does it make whether he calls himself Sith or not!? It's what he _is!_ Are all the Umbral knights like that?"

"I don't know."

Nakiri's face was a mask of disgust and horror. "We shouldn't have come here. They're already gone. We're wasting our time, and jeopardizing our lives for a kingdom that has already fallen. Arguably fallen further than the _Seperatists!_ With them, it's just Dooku. Here, they have a whole _order_ of-"

"Nakiri!"

The Padawan's mouth snapped shut. Kayil glared at her.

"We are here as diplomats, and we are going to do our job. I don't want any more said about this for the moment, understood? I will not have this opportunity ruined by an impolitic accusation from you, and I will _certainly_ not have you giving up on our mission. We will discuss this later."

Nakiri's voice was sheepish, genuinely apologetic. There wasn't even a trace of bitterness. "Yes, master."

"Good. Breathe. Centre yourself."

Another voice echoed through the chamber, loud, clear and perfectly crisp, showing off the room's perfect acoustics: "To the Republic diplomats: Her Ladyship, Zhu Elaiza, will see you in her quarters."

The two Jedi turned to face the dais and the woman who had appeared there. She was short, very young, perhaps around age 20, and somewhat plump, with a datapad tucked under one arm. She gestured for them to approach, and when they stopped in front of the dais she impatiently grunted and jerked her head, before walking around behind the throne. The Jedi hesitated for a moment, then as one they stepped up onto the dais and followed her around behind the throne, where they found the woman holding a door ajar for them.

The young woman looked the Jedi up and down, and, seemingly satisfied, began speaking very fast. "Her Ladyship is just down the hall; as always when meeting a noble, be respectful, but she has requested that you not stand on ceremony during this meeting; this is not an official introduction; for all legal purposes, you will not meet with Her Ladyship until you are introduced to the court in eighteen-and-a-half hours, and any claim to the contrary will be summarily denied; Her Ladyship is open to discussion of official matters and future diplomatic relations, but no promise made outside of the throne room is to be considered legally binding; one more thing; at present, she is tired and about to go to bed; she has been embroiled in exhausting political dealings with her courtiers for the past six hours, and requires her rest; Her Ladyship is too polite to dismiss you herself for her own benefit, but if you keep her up and it ends up affecting her performance at her royal duties tomorrow, I will know, and I will hold you responsible. Am I understood?"

Kayil blinked and stared. The servant stared right back at her, waiting for a response.

"Yes. Yes, that is understood. Thank you."

The servant nodded and gestured them through the door.

* * *

The door of Lady Elaiza's study opened, and she leaned forward to place her elbows on the desk, greeting the newcomers with a smile over her laced fingers.

The first to enter the room was a middle-aged woman, flecks of grey just starting to appear in her hair. Her face looked strangely round and soft to Elaiza's eye, and her skin, a deep, chestnut brown, was almost as odd to her as the pictures of aliens that appeared in her books. But none of that surprised her overly much. She had read that humans in the rest of the galaxy were far more genetically diverse than the few initial colonists who had first settled Ranos half a millennium ago. She was dressed in a set of simple brown robes over a plain white, close-fitting outfit.

The second Jedi to enter the room looked very different: lighter, though not quite as pale as most of the people Elaiza was used to dealing with, and with hair so fair it almost fooled her into thinking the woman was very old and had gone fully white. In fact, given closer inspection, she was much younger than the first. Elaiza's second estimate placed her at about the same age as Lin, and a little younger than Elaiza herself. She was dressed in an identical outfit to the first.

"Welcome!" Elaiza unlaced her fingers only long enough to gesture to the chairs in front of the desk. "Please, come in. Have a seat. I'm sure we have much to discuss."

* * *

High Lady Zhu Elaiza was not quite what Kayil had expected from a queen. She had imagined long, ruffled skirts, thick makeup, an ornate crown, bright, colourful clothing, heavy jewelry... all the things she had come to expect from high-ranking members of feudal societies. She had been basing her assumptions off of the royal family of Naboo's human inhabitants, who she had seen in a parade when she was younger, visiting the planet with her own master.

Instead, what she got was a human woman of middling appearance, in perhaps her late twenties, wearing minimal makeup. Her dark hair was up in a simple braid just like those of the Umbral knights outside, and she was dressed in shapeless, practical grey clothing that was one step away from being simple pyjamas. There was not a crown or a piece of jewelry in sight. Kayil presumed that she put on more elegant attire when engaging in official business, but this still came as something of a surprise to her.

"Welcome!" Lady Elaiza's grin was warm and open. Her clasped hands parted for a moment to indicate a pair of upholstered chairs in front of the desk, before returning to their clasped position. Chairs which, Kayil noted, were exactly the same size and make as the one Elaiza herself sat in. "Please, come in. Have a seat. I'm sure we have much to discuss."

Kayil sat in one of the offered seats, and Nakiri followed suit.

"Your names?" The queen leaned forward and placed her chin on her interlaced fingers.

"Kayil Pexis. Structured as given, then family name. So it's Kayil."

"And Nakiri. Just... Nakiri. No family name."

"Very well. Welcome, Kayil and Nakiri. I am Zhu Elaiza - family then given, though I assume you already know all of that. I hope the journey from Coruscant was pleasant?"

Kayil was the one who responded. She usually was. "For the most part. A bit cramped, perhaps, but a few days on a starship are certainly a nice change of pace after spending so long in the bustle of the core worlds."

"Well, you'll find Suryasta both spacious and quiet, at least as long as you remain in the Grand Tower. I'm sure you'll settle in nicely for the duration of your stay. If you ever feel the urge to go out and see the rest of the city, I'm sure I could assign somebody to guide you. The markets are quite lively."

There was a moment of silence. Kayil scanned the study wit interest, noting with some surprise the number of paper books on the shelves on the walls. She was just starting to consider mentioning the books, or possibly the reentry procedure or some similar piece of small talk when she was saved by High Lady Elaiza speaking first: "Let's dispense with pleasantries. I said we have much to discuss, and I was certainly not talking about checking in and asking about one another's health. We are here to re-establish an official relationship between the kingdom of Everdawn and the rest of the galactic community. I think we should stop wasting time with frivolities and get down to business."

Kayil bowed her head. "I couldn't agree more, your ladyship."

Lady Elaiza made a most unladylike snort. "Please. It's Elaiza here. Even out in the kingdom at large, the most formal people usually get with me is 'my lady'. That's neither here nor there. To business." Her hands were still clasped in front of her, but they were no longer rigid. Her fingers began to twist and adjust, and her face took on a thoughtful look. "It's customary in Everdawn at the beginning of any negotiation for both parties to state, in clear and unambiguous terms, what their optimal outcome is for the dealings. So, with that in mind: I would like to establish a direct, continuous and official line of communication between my kingdom and the Republic. I would like a guarantee from you and your superiors that no Republic military force will ever occupy my kingdom, any of the lesser realms on this planet, any off-world holding controlled by myself or my vassals, or the orbital space of any system my kingdom or myself hold any legal or personal claim upon. I would like to establish a border that no Republic warship will cross, and I would like your guarantee of continued political independence, and that neither I nor any other noble on this planet will be pressured to join the Republic's senate against their will." Her fingers re-laced themselves and stopped moving. "Oh, and as I'm sure Lin already told you, no agreement to be reached in this meeting is to be considered legally binding. I maintain the right to add or alter demands later without repercussion."

"Of course, my lady." Kayil frowned in thought for a moment, then nodded decisively. "Those sound like achievable goals for the most part, yes. I'm sure we can come to an agreement. We can have our superiors offer you observer status in the Senate, letting you send an official ambassador but keeping you out of most of the official dealings..."

"Good, good. As long as it's possible and you agree that they're reasonable demands, I don't care for the moment what the specifics are. What I want to know right now is what _you,_ and the Republic by extension, would like in exchange."

Kayil settled back in her chair, crossed her legs and stared into space, trying to piece together a coherent set of goals from the many complicated conversations she had had with senators and other Jedi before leaving Coruscant. Lady Elaiza continued to stare her down over her steepled fingers.

"One moment. Thinking."

"Certainly. Take all the time you need." One of Elaiza's hands moved again from its position clasped in front of her, reaching instead to pick up a tall pitcher full of a translucent green liquid. "I'm unfamiliar with the Jedi teachings, I'm afraid. Do you drink?"

Nakiri stepped in this time. "Jedi don't drink to excess, but simple consumption isn't forbidden. My master doesn't drink, I do."

Their host bowed her head, produced two glasses from under the desk, and filled the first nearly to the brim. She looked to Nakiri, the unspoken question in her eyes, and Nakiri, after glancing sidelong at her master, held her fingers just a small distance apart. Their hostess inclined her head again, and poured a splash of the green liquid into the glass, filling it with almost exactly as much of the substance as indicated by the space between the Padawan's fingers. She held out the glass, picking up her own in her other hand, and after Nakiri accepted the glass, the queen settled back into the cushions of her chair with a satisfied sigh.

"Emerald wine. Lovely stuff. We brew it locally, from kibiato fruit grown in our own orchards. Most of what you'll eat and drink here will be produced locally. My family has tried for a very long time to remain prosperous while also being self-sufficient. With varying levels of success." She took a small sip of the wine, and Nakiri did the same. It was sharp, sourer than what Nakiri associated with the word "wine", and very, very dry. Its aftertaste was much more complex than the wine itself. Nakiri wasn't picky, as a rule. In her formative years, living on 1313, she had learned that if you turned down a meal or a drink there might very well not be another. So in spite of the unfamiliar taste, she took another sip without hesitation.

Kayil uncrossed her legs, and both of the other women in the room directed their attention back to her immediately.

"Keeping in mind that I also retain the right to alter these demands later... and that these are simply an optimal outcome, not an ultimatum..." Elaiza nodded impatiently, and gestured for her to get on with it. "The... Republic would prefer it if, by the end of these negotiations, your kingdom signs a non-aggression pact with us, opens your borders to trade, accepts future diplomatic missions and foreign aid, and strengthens its borders against the Separatists for the remainder of the war." She took a deep breath. This next part was one she knew was going to be in issue, but Chancellor Palpatine himself had insisted on it. She couldn't very well leave it out. "We would also like you to accept protectorate status, granting the Republic military access to-"

Elaiza made a disgusted noise. Kayil forged onwards.

"...Military access to your sovereign territory, but only under the circumstances of a foreign invasion or similar threat to your autonomy."

"Granting you military access _is_ a threat to our autonomy. And many of my vassals will say the same thing about opening our borders to your trade fleets." She took a sip of her wine. "I don't believe that, but it's all I've heard from my court since I announced you were coming. 'My lady, don't let them plunder our wealth!' 'My lady, our economy is already struggling, don't make it worse by letting our resources leave our borders!' 'My lady, my belt holdings are already barely providing enough iron for our current purposes! Don't bleed the belt dry by sending it away in exchange for Republic goods at inflated prices!' On and on and on." She sipped again, savouring the taste for a solid three or four seconds before swallowing. As she spoke she swirled the emerald liquid around the inside of the glass. "What I'm saying is that even without that bit about protectorate status, this will be a very hard sell for my vassals. And with military access into the mix..." She shook her head. "Not possible, I'm afraid."

Nakiri leaned over to Kayil, muttering "Master, remember the Windu policy."

Kayil nodded with a sigh of resignation. "My Padawan has reminded me... there is something else I do need to ask for, and it's best to get it on the table now. I realize it will be troublesome, but..." Again, Elaiza gestured for her to get on with it, still swirling her wine with her other hand. "Right. Well. The Jedi order and the Senate have an agreement, formed a few years ago, after a Sith supported the Trade Federation's bid for control of Naboo, that any Republic world where there is suspicion of involvement from... practitioners of the dark side of the Force is to be subjected to an official investigation. A major aspect of this investigation is to be conducted by... us. The Jedi order ourselves. And I'm sorry to say that the legal term 'Republic world' includes both planets with observer status and protectorates, in addition to the more obvious definition of planets and nations with full member status."

Elaiza went still. Her wine came to rest and became perfectly smooth and unmoving. "Go on," she said, her voice suddenly guarded.

"Well, the guards who were assigned to escort us through the palace to you were led by a, um..." She looked at Nakiri, who took over immediately.

"A dark side user," she said bluntly. "We both felt his power. We suspect that he is a member of your order of force-users, your... Umbral knights. What's more, we now believe that the Umbral knights are..."

Kayil laid a hand on her Padawan's arm, and Nakiri quieted down again. Kayil turned to their hostess and smiled. "We're not certain what is going on as of yet. That's why we will need to conduct an investigation. Perhaps it's a simple mistake. Maybe he slipped through the net and nobody else has noticed yet that he has fallen to the dark side. Or perhaps, without Jedi guidance, the Umbral knights don't realize that they're teaching their members aspects of-"

The queen interrupted, her voice sharp, and Kayil stopped speaking without even thinking about it. "You needn't bother investigating. The Umbral knights are very transparent about their practices, and I'm sure that if you simply talk to them you will be able to work all this out."

Something about her tone made Kayil suspect... but no... "Did you... Already _know_ about this?"

Elaiza took a deep breath before responding. "I did. As I said, the Umbral knights are very transparent. And they have informed me in depth about their philosophy and their common usage of what you so reductively term the 'dark side'." She began swirling her wine again. Kayil was aghast. This woman had just outright admitted that she had knowingly allowed her subjects to be corrupted! She was letting an organized order openly teach the ways of the dark side to her citizens!

Keeping her voice carefully level, and choosing her words with the utmost care, Kayil said "Lady Elaiza, I must tell you that this is... reckless. By willingly allowing the dark side into your kingdom, you-"

Nakiri stood up with a jolt, nearly knocking over her chair. Her glass of wine, forgotten on the armrest, teetered and toppled off, shattering and spilling green fluid across the floor.

"Master, I think we had best take our leave." Nakiri's voice was flat, but Kayil could feel the way her Padawan's mind was seething, and the way she was trying desperately to calm herself and pull herself back from anger.

Kayil continued to stare at the queen, who simply directed a mild look at Nakiri before returning her gaze silently to the Jedi master.

"Master?" Nakiri prodded.

Kayil stood, much more carefully than her Padawan had. "I'm sorry for the trouble," she said, bowing to the queen. Elaiza inclined her head in response, then turned her attention to Nakiri. Kayil could tell, though, that no apology would be forthcoming from her student. "I believe Nakiri is right, my lady," she said, covering for the padawan. "We should take our leave. Besides, your servant was concerned about you getting enough rest tonight."

"Agreed. I will see you in eighteen hours, when we officially meet in person for the first time." In spite of the situation, Elaiza's lips twitched with the ghost of a smile at the ridiculousness of the situation. Nakiri started to turn and leave, then stopped herself at the door, gave the queen a very stiff bow, and strode out and down the hallway back towards the throne room. Kayil followed behind her, stopping at the door to offer a much deeper bow. As she turned to leave, Elaiza spoke up.

"One last thing. I'd rather you found out from me. There will be a delegation arriving from the Confederacy of Independent Planets within the next few days." Kayil turned her head to look at the queen over her shoulder, but offered no other response. "I expect you and them to be civil to one another for the duration of your stay. There will be no violence in my court outside of officially sanctioned duels."

Kayil paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to centre herself, and then nodded.

"Good. You are dismissed."

* * *

The door of the study shut with a click, and Elaiza placed her glass carefully on the desk in front of her. She put her elbows on the armrests of her chair, and buried her face in her hands. "Damn it," she muttered. "It was going so _well..._ "

She sighed and peeked out from between her fingers. There was a green stain slowly spreading on the carpet, and feather-edged broken shards of the crystal goblet were scattered on the floor. She groaned in frustration and opened a drawer, bringing out her datapad and tapping out a quick message to Lin. "Send up the cleaners. My study. Tell them it's broken glass. Thank you." She put the datapad on the desk face-down, then stood, stepped carefully around the edges of the dangerous area, and walked out of the study towards her bedroom.


End file.
